Broken Heartbeat
by Qing Ri
Summary: Sometimes little sisters are the most precious things in the world. And once, the same was true of the Moriarty siblings. How did they drift so far apart for him not to care for her?
1. Chess and Snow

_Jennifer has been a character in my head for a long time. She's only just become Jim's sister.  
>I hope to be updating it very soon. I can't stop writing, i think my brain is making up for not writing anything during the holiday.<em>

* * *

><p>"You can't just mirror my moves Jenny!"<p>

I looked from Jim to the pile of white chess pieces to the left of the board and back to my big brother. "Is that in the rules?" I asked sincerely, thinking that actually it worked quite well.

"Uhm… no." He stared the board down as if one of the pieces will jump up to his shoulder and tell him which move to make next. I thought it would be the Queen. She's very good on the board and in my mind I saw a strong woman in the pieces' place, dressed like Isabelle of Castille and driving away my Moorish black set. All of a sudden I feel bad for winning.

Jim made his move and I capture another.

"How the hell-!" He yells at the board to the concerned look of Jonathon, who doesn't seem to give the bad language a second thought and goes back to his college work.

And then my brain did what it had been doing all morning; it mapped out every possible move and my best reaction to it, all in a heartbeat. That's when my brother made his move, making me wonder; did he see the same as me?

In two moves I had his other castle. Another three moves and he finally added one of my rooks to his pile.

"Do you see it?" I whispered across the game.

Jim looked into my eyes, his own filled with curiosity and concern, "See what?"

"The moves? Like a map?"

My brother smiled, "You see it?"

I nodded.

"Do you know what that means Jenny?"

I shook my head.

"It means you're a genius."

I made another move, "But I only see things sometimes. Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes I have no clue.

Jim smiled at me, "Don't worry little sis-" He shot a glance at Jonathon, who was fully engrossed in his book, "I'll help you. You can make sure you see it all the time. Dad can do it too you know."

My interest dissipated. Dad never interested me. He disgusted me.

White flakes drifted past the window, making me stare while Jim pondered his latest move. The white spots increased. Then began to fall a lot thinker and faster.

We needed to move, and move fast. I left the room like a shot and ran upstairs to get a raincoat, scarf, gloves and wellies.

By the time I was back downstairs, Jim was wrapped up too, standing beside Jonathon, who was trying and failing to give Jim a scarf.

I waited until I heard the tell-tale sound of the maid going past my room until I left. Everything was dark outside, but Jim had put his light back on. Could he hear me crying? I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and opened the door as quietly as I could and closed it just as quietly when I was inside. I tip toed over to his bed and climbed in next to him.

"I'll be an adult soon." He whispered to me, "And we can run away, go to Edinburgh where Jon is going." He wrapped his arms around me and I resisted the urge to wince as his arms landed on my tender skin.

The door opened once more and I froze.

"There you are!" It was Mum. I relaxed.

She came over and kissed us both on the head. Her hair was soft. It smelt like strawberries! When it brushed against my shoulders, I lost myself in it. I think she smiled… then left.


	2. Swimming

_ Haha, don't worry, Thornedbudx, i'm sure you'll hate Jim again by the end. It doesn't stay cute for long._

* * *

><p>Before my hand even so much as touched Jim's door handle he shouted from inside, "STAY THERE!" followed by much shuffling and fuss from inside his bedroom.<p>

"Jim?" I asked, cautious but leaning forward extremely curious. Just as my ear was about to touch the door, I fell onto my brothers chest. He caught me but we still fell back laughing.

"You can come in now!" He grinned at me for a moment then kissed my cheek. "Happy Birthday sis!"

I fell onto my side, unable to control my laughter. Instantly Jim was over me, hand on my mouth and finger on his lips. Fear, cold and unrelenting shot through my system, killing all excitement in my gut and forcing me to stiffen. We stayed there for a few seconds that felt like hours when Jim got up and closed the door, sighing. I winced and ran to him burying my head in his pyjama top. Slowly and deliberately quiet he hushed me and stroked my hair.

"I didn't know he was back tonight." I was surprised he could hear my muffled reply.

"It's okay. He didn't hear anything." He let go of me, but I held on tight to his sleeve as he led me across the room and into his wardrobe. He closed that door too and pulled the small light from the bottom draw at the end of the room switching it on with difficulty, given the toddler attached to his arm. Next, he smiled. I thought it was strange; I was still worried about my loud outburst earlier. From next to the light he pulled a small box wrapped up in purple tissue paper and tied with a yellow bow.

While I just stared at it, he stared at me somewhat expectantly. "Are you going to open it?"

I nodded slowly.

"It's okay, Jenny, he's not here."

Gently, gradually, I let go of his arm. Part of me didn't want to open the box it was so pretty. I pulled at the ribbon anyway and lightly pulled at the tissue paper. Once it was open, Jim picked up the box inside.

"Promise me you'll look after it. It's for big girls." He opened the box for me to see what was inside. I was struck by it! Inside was a silver locket set with several tiny stones. Carefully I picked it up and turned it over. It was engraved on the back with my name and an M.

Two shots rang through the house and I dropped the necklace, flinging my arms at Jim.

...

I cheered as hard as I could, leaning forward in my chair & ignoring the disappointed looks of Mrs Stevens and the bored boy next to me. Mrs Stevens gave in and pushed me back in my seat telling me that my brother would do how he did, no matter how hard I cheered.

The boy sitting next to me pulled at my sleeve. I had to do a double take, I'd never seen him before and the movement surprised me. I looked at my sleeve, and back at the boy, who'd gone back to his book.

"Your bruises." He said quietly. "I didn't think you'd want anyone to see." Without looking up he waved disinterested at my arm.

I thanked him quietly. After a few minutes I broke the silence again, "How did you know?"

"You have long sleeves." Once more he spoke without taking his eyes from his book.

"And?"

"It's the middle of June. No one wears long sleeves in the middle of June." He peered up at me, expectant.

I shut up, chastised. After a little while longer I was at it again, asking him if he was swimming. He said no. Disappointed, I huffed and left the stands. I wasn't supposed to but he had annoyed me and I wanted some skittles. When I paid at the sweet machine there was a big group of boys down the corridor. One of whom started to point and laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" I said defiantly.

"Your arm is purple!" One of them shouted, much to the amusement of the others, one of whom thought it would add to their fun to follow it with, "Your Mum is dead!"

"Leave my sister alone!" Jim was suddenly in front of me, dressed but still dripping wet from his excursion in the pool. I was glad for it, I didn't want the older boys to see the tears that welled up in my eyes.

"Or what? Weakling!" The first boy laughed again.

Mrs Stevens came around the corner then. "CARL! Stands, now!" Then added, "I think your sister needs to go home, Jim?"

The boys left with the swimming teacher.

"I don't want to go home. But I don't want to stay here either!"

Jim turned to me and knelt down, handing me a £10 note. "Go get your bag, have some lunch. I'll meet you there in a bit okay?"

I hugged him tight and ran up to the stands to get my bag, acutely aware of Mrs Stevens and the boy from before watching me carefully.

We were in the café for well over an hour when Jim finally said we were going home. He took me to the changing rooms first, showing me Carl's shoes and telling me how he adored them. That he had taken them because of what he did.

"No one hurts my little sister, if I can help it."

It made me giggle.


	3. Saying Goodbye

_Sorry for the long update! I was going to write last night but i was shattered._  
><em>Came very close to having been able to speak to Andrew Scott, he went right past us! But he was on the phone...<em>  
><em>Anywho, enjoy ;)<em>

* * *

><p>Jim had kept his arm around me all day, only letting go when we got in or out of the car, until he led me by the hand into the room that held the coffin. For the first time in years, he picked me up and held me. I looked down into the coffin, took one look at the ghostly figure that used to be our mother and hid my face in his neck.<p>

She wasn't there, she couldn't be.

"Jen… There's something you need to know."

I looked up at him, desperate not to look down at the box that dominated the room.

"It's important," He pushed a few strands of hair from my face, "Mum… she was just like you, she wouldn't do what Dad wanted her to do."

Even then I could tell he was struggling to get out what he wanted, probably needed to say. But I understood. If Dad was willing to be violent with his own flesh and blood, I didn't want to think about what Mum had to go through.

"You have to behave for him, please. I've told him you will and he promised me he won't hurt you again."

I smiled but tears broke through and Jim, my big brother, my hero, my protector, held me close and took me back through the church and handed me to Jonathon. My brothers had to whisper to me that everything would be ok before my cast-iron grip on Jim's black suit weakened. Jonathon stayed with me, I made it perfectly clear I wasn't going to be left alone today and I wanted at least one of my big brothers next to me.

The coffin was carried out of the church, Father at the front on one side and Jim on the other. As soon as he was by my side I was clutching his blazer again.

We had a yellow rose each, they're Mum's favourite. Together we threw them into the grave and stepped back. I quite literally buried myself in Jim's suit jacket as they began to throw the dirt into the hole.

"Ashes to ashes, blood to blood. Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return."

...

By the time I was twelve Dad had figured it out. Carl Powers had died not long after he had teased me, and moments after we took his shoes. But, of course Jim didn't admit to that. Botulism was the poison he'd used and I hated the way that Dad was practically proud of Jim; he kept saying something about a family business and how Jim was a born Moriarty. Then he moved on to how I wasn't a born Moriarty and that's why he'd done all he could when I was younger to get me to agree with him. That Jim would have to encourage me. Encourage me to do what? Jonathon had nothing to do with it, he spent most of his time at university. Where was he studying now? Somewhere in America I think.

I stopped swinging my legs and pulled them out from the gaps in the banister of the first floor landing, and just in time; Jim and Dad left the living room downstairs and entered the hallway, oblivious to the fact I had been listening in. As quietly as I could, I bum-shuffled back into the bathroom, stood and grabbed my toothbrush.

At twelve I was far sneakier; I learnt it from Jim. Invaluable given the bruises I had received whenever I was caught. The beatings and kickings stopped not long after I turned 8, when I started listening to Jim and stopped getting caught listening or watching. The thoughts of Mum rushed through my head, as they did most mornings, and I bit down on the toothbrush. Mum died. Mum didn't die. She was killed.

Somehow I didn't believe that Dad just didn't have the heart to tell us, in fact, I didn't remember believing my father had a heart.

"Haf you sheen le new babyshlitter?" I asked Jim when he finally came up the stairs.

He laughed a little. "Excuse me? Are you trying to say something?" He teased.

I spat out the toothbrush, "Yeah, I said, 'half u-turn in the new car."

Putting it on heavily, Jim radiated understanding and realisation, "OH! You should have said!" He smiled, turning a little more serious, "No I haven't seen the new Housekeeper."

Waving the brush in the air dismissively I told him the truth, "No matter what Dad calls them, they're baby sitters, all of them. Every single one is over-bearing, over-paid and over-dressed."

Jim raised an eyebrow. "Over-dressed?"

I stuffed the toothbrush back in my mouth and said through it, "I couthan't think of a bether one."

In a moment he was behind me, and had his arms wrapped snuggly around my waist, his head resting on my shoulder.

"Jen,"

The tone of voice made my stomach turn, made all the worse by him not calling me Jenny. Jim always called me Jenny.

"I don't want you to wait up tonight. Go to bed, stay there. If Dad asks you if you want to come out, tell him you're tired and have a lot of work to do tomorrow, invent an issue. Don't come with us. Do it for me?"

I tried my hardest not to swallow too obviously and nodded.

* * *

><p><em>Please R&amp;R!<em>


	4. Recoil is Hell

_I'm half way through chapter six too. It's ended up longer than i expected already!  
>To explain; as i started typing this chapter my brain suddenly went 'Moriarty had an older brother.'<br>So, as i had no internet i sat there and added references. Both brothers in ACD canon were called James... clearly ACD forgot. So i changed the older brothers name to Jonathon, admittedly the first name in my head :/  
><em>

* * *

><p>I peered over Jim's shoulder. He was typing about something. A job for Dad, he was rearranging a pick up that he couldn't make.<p>

"I'll do it." I said on impulse.

Jim jumped almost a foot in the air and glared at me. "Jenny! No, I won't let you." He went back to typing.

Offended I sat on the table beside him, arms crossed over my chest. "Why not? It's just a pick up!"

Hanging his head briefly, Jim turned to me, his face serious. "The people on the other end are the kind of people who carry guns anywhere they go. I'm not putting you in the middle of that, especially alone."

"Well, then, we make it a level playing field." Jim looked at me strangely. "You give me a gun. Evens."

...

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Totally?"

I nodded.

Jim disarmed the gun in his hands and placed the magazine in one of my hands and the gun in the other. He moved my hands in his to show me how to arm the gun, then positioned my fingers just right.

"You know what everyone says?"

"Squeeze don't pull?"

He smiled at me and lifted my arm up to aim the gun at the target, "Slow as you like. Take your time and make sure you're steady. You will blink but that's okay everyone does. When you're ready…"

I tried to concentrate on keeping my hand still. Jim had his hands on both my elbows and stood close, trying to subtly make me lean forwards.

I squeezed.

Jim's grip on me tightened.

The recoil, I had expected but I must have underestimated; I was sent back into Jim who laughed a little at my expense and asked if I was alright.

"Hell of a kick the first time."

I nodded in agreement. "Does it get better?"

"Eventually. Are you certain you want to do this? I can have people follow you, keep you safe."

I turned to him, a slightly disgusted look on my face. "Jim! I don't want to go anywhere and feel like I'm being watched. It's wrong. If I can get used to this-" I lifted the gun in my hand, "Then you won't have to worry about me. Even so, only in emergencies, yes?"

There was a long pause while Jim thought about what I had said, eyes on the floor.

"Jim?"

"I can only think you would be better off staying out of it." Still, he refused to look up.

Quickly, I checked my watch. I was late for a movie with a friend. I went up on my tiptoes and kissed my big brother on the cheek, he did worry sometimes. "I can't keep dodging Dad all the time. You know he hates me for not being like you. I gotta go." I stuck the gun into my jeans for the time being and left, heading for the front door.

"Where are you going?"

I stopped dead, my hands going sweaty and my face going cold. My father was standing close, watching me leave the house. I turned to face him, carefully and slowly.

"I'm going to meet some friends. There's a movie…"

He eyed me. "You're lying."

I attempted to swallow my heart. "I'm not, I swear! The movie is a-"

"There's a gun in your jeans."

My mouth dropped but no sound came out. What excuse did I have for taking a gun to the cinema? I couldn't make something up, I'd have to prove it with income or goods. I just couldn't lie… or say anything at all.

"Tell me where you're going." Surprisingly, he was encouraging, his voice was soft. It shouldn't be! All that went through my mind was how like him Jim was.

In a moment, as soon as it was clear I wasn't going to say anything; his hand was in the air. I didn't even flinch.

The force of it was harder than I could remember and I fell to the floor, clutching my face.

"At least have the guts to lie!" I heard him come over to me, "How are you my daughter?" My eyes squeezed shut in fear and anticipation, but he just left.

As soon as I knew he couldn't see I fell from my knees onto my side. I thanked whatever decided our fates that Jonathon was home. He saw everything and ran to my side.

"Jenny?" Carefully he pulled my hands away from my bleeding nose. He let out a sigh when he saw it and tried to clean up the blood with a tissue. Pain shot through my face and I winced at the touch. "We have to get you to the hospital."

I moaned "And say what? Dad gets taken down then we lose everything, including each other. We can't tell them he hit me!"

"It won't come to that Jenny. We'll tell them you fell."

* * *

><p><em>Please R&amp;R :)<em>


	5. What We're Capable Of

By the time the car pulled up on the seemingly random street there was a faint mist in the air. The kind of rain that clings to your clothes and sends chills through them. Jim left straight away and I looked around trying to figure out where we were. I ran to catch up to him in the rain, snuggling up to him in the cold.

"Who are we seeing?"

"I told you earlier. David, the one who does fakes."

Arm in arm, we turned a corner into one of the parks where two people sitting on a bench stood as if they had been waiting. Jim let go of my arm to shake the elder one's hand and they started to walk side by side. The younger one approached me nervously and we exchanged pleasantries as we walked behind. Matt was a year or two older than me and we seemed to find many things to speak about very quickly. He was cute, about five inches taller than me with light brown hair bordering on ginger. I assumed that redness was the cause of his shyness.

Straight away he made me laugh. When the rain started to get heavier he pulled an umbrella from his pocket and we huddled underneath it, happily chatting about everything and nothing. We were so distracted we had made our way into a small coffee shop alone while my brother and his father spoke business. I learned that his father, like mine with Jim, was teaching him what he did. I also learned that neither of us actually liked coffee. We waited out the rain.

A text buzzed in my pocket.

_Meeting someone else._  
><em>Stay safe. Jim.<em>

I grinned. Matt and I had all the time in the world.

When I got back home, I ran up the stairs looking for Jim, happily singing softly along to Bowie until a sudden outburst of 'Wish upon wish upon day upon day, I believe oh Lord I believe all the way!' as I reached the top and jumped up the final step and swung around the corner, straight into someone not Jim. He caught me as I smashed into him laughing slightly, just like Jim would and asked jokingly, "You believe do you?"

I shook myself and looked up at him. He was well older than me, probably older than Jim too, strong, with training in his muscles despite being lean like Jim. He had short light brown hair, tinted by the sun and eyes just as light. Below that was a rather cheeky grin.

"No David does." I told him, a picture of seriousness.

"David?" He asked me, clearly confused.

"Bowie." I explained.

From behind him I heard Jim say, "That's my little sister, a child of the 80's not actually in the 80's."

I passed the new arrival and ran to Jim, jumping at the last minute. He caught me as if he knew what I was going to do all along. "You're very happy Jenny, It's a little disconcerting."

"Disconcerting?" I dropped from his arms, "Disconcerting? Couldn't you have picked a better word?" I rolled my eyes.

"Jennifer-" He turned me around to face the one I had run into, "This is Sebastian Moran. He's a friend."

"Lillian said dinner is ready." I said hardly acknowledging what Jim had told me.

"Are you staying?" He asked Sebastian before taking my hand and leaving the room.

A few months later Dad had requested a proper dinner. Jonathon was back from the Uni where he had been given a job, and to celebrate we were all to sit at the dining table, last used for Mum's wake, and have a sit down meal. I had wanted to wear my suit like Jim and Jon but Jim had told me it was best to look like a woman and wear a dress. So before I had even gotten to the dining room I was uncomfortable.

It only got worse during dinner. Jonathon and Dad had most of the conversation leaving me, Jim and Lillian, the latest babysitter, in awkward silence. Jim kept smiling at me as if we were sharing a private joke.

Dad was about to speak to me when he doubled over in pain. We all stood and instantly reacted. Lillian ran for a phone as Dad convulsed in pain, Jon trying desperately to help. I stepped back, moving as far away from him as I could but at the same time unable to take my eyes away. Jim followed me.

"Jenny?" He asked me as I began to hyperventilate.

"He's not ill, it's the food. We all ate the food…" I whispered.

Jim tried to hold me, but still I couldn't look away, even as Dad went still, blood appearing on his lips. "He was ill. He was ill, Jenny. We'll be ok, I promise you." He shushed me softly.

"How can you kn-"My eyes went wide, "Jim what have you done?" I asked as quietly as i could, pulling away.

He just looked at me and stroked my cheek. "It's only what he deserved. If I could, I would have done it years ago. Tell me you want him alive, truthfully?"

I finally looked away from Dad and went back to Jim, letting him hold me as I cried into his top.


End file.
